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The Secret Revealed: Assessing the Latest Self-Help Phenomenon

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The Secret Revealed: Assessing the Latest Self-Help Phenomenon CHRISTIAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE PO Box 8500, Charlotte, NC 28271 Feature Article: JAS333 THE SECRET REVEALED: ASSESSING THE LATEST SELF-HELP PHENOMENON by Robert Velarde This article first appeared in the Christian Research Journal, volume 30, number 6 (2007). For further information or to subscribe to the Christian Research Journal go to: http://www.equip.org SYNOPSIS Promoted on The Oprah Winfrey Show and other media venues, The Secret has become the latest self-help phenomenon. It was initially available for viewing online and later became a bestselling DVD and book by Rhonda Byrne. Featuring two-dozen contributors, The Secret claims to solve all of life’s challenges through the power of thought. The foundation of The Secret is the law of attraction, which states that our thoughts transmit like radio waves, throughout the universe, drawing either positive or negative experiences into our lives, allowing us to create our own reality. Thinking positively results in our drawing joy, financial prosperity, and good health, for example, into our lives. The worldview of The Secret is monistic pantheism—all is one, all is divine. Everything is interconnected energy. Our positive thoughts tap into this energy and produce positive results in our lives. Our negative thoughts, conversely, bring negativity into our lives. As a result, The Secret is in the precarious position of stating that experiences such as rape and child molestation are the result of the thoughts of those who have suffered such horrors. The Secret claims compatibility with Christianity, but it is anything but Christian. Jesus taught belief in a transcendent, personal, holy God who is distinct from His creation. Human beings are fallen and in need of radical redemption that involves real repentance before God for sins committed against His perfect law, and through belief in the death and resurrection of Christ, His Son, who was a sinless sacrifice on their behalf. We are not perfect divine beings with unlimited potential. I feel it—that so many people are hungry for guidance and meaning in their lives, and The Secret offers some of that. It is the law of attraction. It says that the energy, that the thoughts and the feelings that you put out into the world, both good and bad, are exactly what is always coming back to you, so you have the life that you have created. I’ve been talking about this for years on my show, I just never called it The Secret.1 So said Oprah Winfrey about the latest self-help phenomenon, The Secret. Initially released via the Internet (March 2006) as a pay-per-view video stream, and making its way to DVD as an “extended edition” (October 2006), The Secret2 has since captured the attention of millions of people the world over. Followed by a bestselling book of the same title, The Secret is the result of the efforts of Rhonda Byrne, an Australian television writer and producer. Perhaps the most pertinent questions for Christians are: What is The Secret? How does it claim to work? Is it compatible with Christianity? CRI Web: www.equip.org Tel: 704.887.8200 Fax:704.887.8299 WHAT IS THE SECRET? The Secret is a self-help technique founded on a principle called the law of attraction that is rooted in pantheism and designed to be applied to finances, relationships, health, spirituality—virtually every aspect of life. Featuring two-dozen contributors,3 The Secret claims to offer the means to a fulfilled life. The Law of Attraction The foundation of The Secret is the law of attraction—an impersonal force that individuals can manipulate with their thoughts in order to achieve what they want in their lives. “It is,” writes Byrne, “the law that determines the complete order in the Universe, every moment of your life, and every single thing you experience in your life…the law of attraction is forming your entire life experience, and this all- powerful law is doing that through your thoughts.”4 The Secret of the law of attraction has supposedly been known throughout the centuries by numerous individuals—such as Socrates, Plato, Newton, Beethoven, and Einstein—and religions—such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Hermetic traditions.5 Several advocates of The Secret define the law of attraction similarly. “Thoughts become things,”6 explains author Mike Dooley. Entrepreneur John Assaraf says, “Thought has a frequency.”7 Michael Beckwith, cofounder of the Association for Global New Thought, elaborates on how thoughts create reality: “Every time an individual has a thought…they’re in the creation process. Something is going to manifest out of those thoughts.”8 Prentice Mulford (1834-1891), a pioneer of New Thought (see explanation below), is quoted in support of the law of attraction: “Every thought of yours is a real thing— a force.”9 Those who accumulate wealth are said to know The Secret, whether “consciously or unconsciously. They think thoughts of abundance and wealth….It is the law of attraction in action.”10 The Secret repeats the theme, “Thoughts are magnetic, and thoughts have a frequency….You are a human transmission tower”11 throughout. Mastering life, then, is a matter of mastering thoughts. Once one understands the law of attraction, putting it into action will result in health, wealth, love, joy—anything positive one may desire. All of this is built on a worldview foundation that is clearly at odds with theism. Everything is Energy Like many of the Mind Science religions, as well as forms of Hinduism, The Secret is based on pantheism, which sees everything as divine. In opposition to Christianity, which distinguishes between a transcendent God and created beings, The Secret is monistic, viewing all reality as one. The interconnectedness of all reality is also an aspect of the underlying worldview of The Secret. Byrne writes, “We are all connected, and we are all part of the One Energy Field, or the One Supreme Mind, or the One Consciousness, or the One Creative Source…we are all One.”12 Later she adds, “You are God in a physical body. You are Spirit in the flesh. You are Eternal Life expressing itself as You. You are a cosmic being. You are all power. You are all wisdom. You are all intelligence. You are perfection. You are magnificence. You are the creator, and you are creating the creation of You on this planet.”13 James Arthur Ray comments, “That means you have God potential and power to create your world.”14 Other contributors to The Secret agree. “Everything is energy,”15 explains Ben Johnson, a practitioner of energy-based medicine. “You’re not a finite body,” adds Ray, “you’re an energy field.”16 Assaraf concurs, noting, “We’re all connected…everything in the universe is connected, it’s just one energy field.”17 Author Lisa Nichols draws the typical New Age conclusion: “You’re source energy. You are God manifested in human form, made to perfection.”18 Ask and It Will Be Given Byrne explains how one implements the law of attraction: “The Creative Process used in The Secret, which was taken from the New Testament in the Bible, is an easy guideline for you to create what you want in three simple steps.”19 What are the steps? Ask, believe, receive. CRI Web: www.equip.org Tel: 704.887.8200 Fax:704.887.8299 2 The “ask” step is really a command to the impersonal universe, which Ray likens to the story of Aladdin and the lamp.20 Simply ask the genie for what you want and you’ve placed an order to the universe. The second step involves belief, which, according to Nichols, involves “unwavering faith,”21 although faith in what is never clarified. Byrne claims, “You must believe that you have received.”22 Continuing with the “genie” illustration, Byrne adds, “The Genie [i.e., the universe] is responding to your predominant thoughts all the time….That’s why after you’ve asked, you must continue to believe and know. Have faith. Your belief that you have it…is your greatest power.”23 Finally, sit back, feel good, and receive what the law of attraction delivers. THE ROOTS OF THE SECRET If much of The Secret appears familiar, that’s because it is not new (or secret). The Secret is actually an amalgam of past teachings. The Secret lends itself to comparison to recent Word of Faith/Positive Confession teachings. Its techniques are reminiscent of those of Napoleon Hill (1883–1970), author of Think and Grow Rich (1937), and Norman Vincent Peale (1898-1993), author of The Power of Positive Thinking (1952). Mind Science The Secret, most notably, however, is based on the Mind Science groups of the nineteenth century, which have much in common with each other. Significantly influenced by Phineas Parkhurst Quimby (1802-1866), the Mind Science religions of the nineteenth century and beyond included the New Thought movement, which emphasized positive thinking (new thought) rather than negative thinking (old thought). Two prominent groups today that originated in that movement are Religious Science (founded by Ernest Holmes) and Unity School of Christianity (founded by Charles Fillmore). Another major Mind Science group is Christian Science (Mary Baker Eddy). Mind Science teachings contributed to what commonly was termed the New Age Movement in the 1970s and ‘80s and currently is referred to as the “new spirituality” or simply “spirituality.” Byrne notes Charles Fillmore, the cofounder of Unity School, multiple times as an authority on the law of attraction.24 Fillmore believed that the teachings of Unity School would provide health, wealth, and happiness to its adherents. Byrne’s “secret” makes similar claims based on similar beliefs.
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